2 replies to this topic

[Levolas]

Hello!

I have a food safety question, 

 

We have a product in R&D that looks well and I'm trying to figure out scaling up,

 

The products is a non dairy sweet sauce,

-aW is 0.82 - 0.84

-pH is 5.4 - 5.8

-Contains lactic acid to regulate pH and 0.1% potassium sorbate to prevent yeast and mold growth.

 

During the process we heat it up to 65C-70C for 30-40 min and then cool it down, this should kill all existing pathogens if any.

Then we cool down add flavorings and mix for another 30 min in the same vessel that got heated up.

 

I want to then put it in clean sanitary lined totes to roll it for packing into clean bottles, it might sit in the tote for 1 week max if someone screws up.

 

I'm sure that because of the water activity no regular bacteria can grow, and because of the preservative we should be good against yeast and mold even with the relatively high pH, but I wanted to double check since we're not hot filling the product, the packaging is clean and sanitized, but it's not aseptic.

 

Thanks for the input.

 

[kconf]

In which condition will the totes be stored?  Explain packaging is clean and sanitized, but not aseptic. 

[G M]

With products in a similar range of chemistries we don't like to let them sit that long without sealing.  They might take 1-48 hours to go from the lethality to packaged state, in between they're in covered containers.  The sorbate will suppress spoilage, but its not bulletproof, and you get drying/texture and oxidizing issues as well.

 

Clean bun not sanitized I'm guessing this means some kind of polymer packaging, like most pre formed pouches or roll stock, maybe a tray.  The product is RTE before it goes into the package.

Edited by G M, 07 August 2024 - 06:57 PM.